Angela’s Ashes was a way of purging the emotions I carried inside myself for the first nineteen years of my life. The memoir was not about making money; I lived most of my life without money so it is not a necessity now. I wrote because I needed to tell other people that poverty is real. We really did live in a shack infested with fleas that would flood during the winter. When I wrote that we had nothing to eat, we really were starving. The babies really would cry because they had nothing but sugar water. We only had the clothing on our backs and broken shoes. The smell from the lavatory was real. The sickness was real, and it affected us greatly.
I write because of my sister and brothers who died due to our poverty. I did not fully understand what had happened then, but I know it hurt me inside. It was painful to watch my brother as he waited for Ollie to come home. Knowing Margaret died was worse because Mulachy and I were jealous of her. Everyone paid so much attention to Margaret; my father even stopped drinking then. It was worse after she died because then Mam got so upset and we had to move to Ireland where most of our family hated us. I needed to let those bottled emotions out.
I write because of the mistakes my father made. I love the father that would tell me stories of Cucchulain. The father that would come home drunk and singing was even tolerable at first, but after years of his habit, it was too much. He drank the baby’s money, and Mam sent me to pull him out of the pub. No father should make his son have to drag him home from the pub and then leave his family. However, when my father left I was able to work and bring home wages that he never did. Walking home with a few shillings in my pocket gave me a sense of pride that I never dreamed of experiencing and best of all, working enabled me to come back to America.
Being in America has allowed me to escape the poverty and sins I committed; now I can let everything go. I can write everything out on paper and put it aside so that I can try to move on with a different part of my life. I write so that other people will know that the suffering they hear about is real, and I hope they will be thankful for their good situations or find hope if they are suffering. Writing is a process that allows me to look back at my life and analyze what has happened to me. Through writing I can look at what happened in my past and understand it with a sense that I did not have when I was nineteen years old. I did not understand everything that happened to me in New York and Ireland, but I can reflect back on it through writing and fill in the missing pieces. Completing Angela’s Ashes was like finishing the puzzle of my life, and now I can set the puzzle aside and be at peace. I write so that I can heal.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Angela's Ashes
“Through our sunless lanes creeps Poverty with her hungry eyes and Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her. Misery wakes us in the morning and Shame sits with us as night.” Oscar Wilde
This quote from Oscar Wilde relates extremely well to Angela’s Ashes because poverty, sin, and misery are more than just a state of being or an emotion for the McCourts. Wilde represents the same sentiment in the quote above by personifying poverty, sin, and misery. Wilde also says that poverty, sin, and misery are connected, and they are for the McCourts as well.
The McCourts always fall back into the clutches of Poverty, and being in a state of poverty affects so many parts of their lives. For example: they have to live in a rat and flea-infested home that floods and connects to a lavatory for an entire street, The children become sick and die, and their family dislikes them. The problems that affect the McCourts mount and lead to other problems because money affects so much in the world. It is appropriate that Wilde personifies poverty because poverty touches so many aspects of life; like a person is more than just their appearance.
Wilde writes, “Poverty with her hungry eyes and Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her,” indicating that the two are connected. The same is true for the McCourts; such as when Frank steals lemonade and a box of food.
“There’s a van pulling away from South’s pub leaving crates of beer and lemonade outside and there isn’t a soul on the street. In a second I have two bottles of lemonade up under my jersey and I saunter away trying to look innocent” (McCourt 236).
Frank knows that stealing the lemonade is wrong, but he is so desperate to feed his family. Frank feels extra pressure to help because he is the oldest and his father is not home. While it is wrong to steal, he is not able to see any other way because he does not have any money. Not only does the poverty affect the physical things in the lives of the McCourts, but it affects the mental aspects of life. Sin followed Poverty close behind.
The line in Wilde’s quotation, “Misery wakes us in the morning and Shame sits with us at night,” makes the poverty situation described in the quote come full-circle. Once again, misery and shame are personified showing that they can have many different layers and levels. The actions of Misery and Shame show that the emotions stay with the people every day; life is a constant struggle for the McCourts. For example, Frank explains his family’s shame when they do not have food while Mr. McCourt is in England:
“At times like this Mam tells us to stay inside. We have noting but bread and tea and she doesn’t want the tormenting neighbors to see us with our tongues hanging out, suffering over the lovely smells floating up and down the lane,” (218).
This quote shows that the McCourts are desperate, but they do not want to be seen in that state in order to protect what dignity they have left. The McCourts wake up every morning to little, if anything, to eat, their horrible apartment, and the problems of life. The problems do not go away in the course of the day; the problems are waiting every night as well.
This quote from Oscar Wilde relates extremely well to Angela’s Ashes because poverty, sin, and misery are more than just a state of being or an emotion for the McCourts. Wilde represents the same sentiment in the quote above by personifying poverty, sin, and misery. Wilde also says that poverty, sin, and misery are connected, and they are for the McCourts as well.
The McCourts always fall back into the clutches of Poverty, and being in a state of poverty affects so many parts of their lives. For example: they have to live in a rat and flea-infested home that floods and connects to a lavatory for an entire street, The children become sick and die, and their family dislikes them. The problems that affect the McCourts mount and lead to other problems because money affects so much in the world. It is appropriate that Wilde personifies poverty because poverty touches so many aspects of life; like a person is more than just their appearance.
Wilde writes, “Poverty with her hungry eyes and Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her,” indicating that the two are connected. The same is true for the McCourts; such as when Frank steals lemonade and a box of food.
“There’s a van pulling away from South’s pub leaving crates of beer and lemonade outside and there isn’t a soul on the street. In a second I have two bottles of lemonade up under my jersey and I saunter away trying to look innocent” (McCourt 236).
Frank knows that stealing the lemonade is wrong, but he is so desperate to feed his family. Frank feels extra pressure to help because he is the oldest and his father is not home. While it is wrong to steal, he is not able to see any other way because he does not have any money. Not only does the poverty affect the physical things in the lives of the McCourts, but it affects the mental aspects of life. Sin followed Poverty close behind.
The line in Wilde’s quotation, “Misery wakes us in the morning and Shame sits with us at night,” makes the poverty situation described in the quote come full-circle. Once again, misery and shame are personified showing that they can have many different layers and levels. The actions of Misery and Shame show that the emotions stay with the people every day; life is a constant struggle for the McCourts. For example, Frank explains his family’s shame when they do not have food while Mr. McCourt is in England:
“At times like this Mam tells us to stay inside. We have noting but bread and tea and she doesn’t want the tormenting neighbors to see us with our tongues hanging out, suffering over the lovely smells floating up and down the lane,” (218).
This quote shows that the McCourts are desperate, but they do not want to be seen in that state in order to protect what dignity they have left. The McCourts wake up every morning to little, if anything, to eat, their horrible apartment, and the problems of life. The problems do not go away in the course of the day; the problems are waiting every night as well.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Why the Name Schell?
The last name Schell is fitting for many of the characters in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close for various reasons.
Lets start with Oskar. Oskar is clearly struggling with depression following the tragic death of his father. Oskar does not fit in well with other kids his age; for example, the interactions between Jimmy Snyder and himself backstage during the production of Hamlet. Oskar’s knowledge of information that is not typical for his age group, combined with his inventing, both indications of a possible mental disorder, separate him from children his age. Oskar even references zipping himself into a sleeping bag, as if it were a cocoon. While Oskar has lost some of his innocence as a result of the tragedy, he attempts to comfort himself by ignoring the truth as much as possible. Oskar carries a tambourine with him as he visits the Blacks. The tambourine is comforting and shows how Oskar tries to remain as innocent as possible. Oskar also tries to protect his mother by hiding the messages that his father left on the answering machine. In this sense, he is bringing others into his shell for protection.
In a different sense, Schell is a fitting and significant name because Oskar’s journey to all the Blacks because Oskar is breaking out of his shell. Oskar is going out of his comfort zone trying to find information about his father. This is a large task for Oskar because in the back of his mind he knows that the information he receives can finalize his father’s death which he has been attempting to hide from.
The name Schell is also significant in discussing Oskar’s mother. Like Oskar, she hides the fact that she received a phone call from her husband to protect Oskar. She also could have been protecting herself by ignoring the fact that she received the phone call, Oskar’s mother is not making her husband’s death final.
Schell is a fitting name for Oskar’s grandparents as well. Both people have a lot of bottled emotion that they keep from one another. Oskar’s grandmother knows that Thomas truly was in love with Anna; yet she continues a relationship with him for many years hoping that he will love her, when she is really hiding from the truth. Thomas has trouble expressing his emotions towards his son; for example, all the unsent letters he wrote to him. All the bottled emotion Thomas has could be considered a shell that he unable to break through.
Lets start with Oskar. Oskar is clearly struggling with depression following the tragic death of his father. Oskar does not fit in well with other kids his age; for example, the interactions between Jimmy Snyder and himself backstage during the production of Hamlet. Oskar’s knowledge of information that is not typical for his age group, combined with his inventing, both indications of a possible mental disorder, separate him from children his age. Oskar even references zipping himself into a sleeping bag, as if it were a cocoon. While Oskar has lost some of his innocence as a result of the tragedy, he attempts to comfort himself by ignoring the truth as much as possible. Oskar carries a tambourine with him as he visits the Blacks. The tambourine is comforting and shows how Oskar tries to remain as innocent as possible. Oskar also tries to protect his mother by hiding the messages that his father left on the answering machine. In this sense, he is bringing others into his shell for protection.
In a different sense, Schell is a fitting and significant name because Oskar’s journey to all the Blacks because Oskar is breaking out of his shell. Oskar is going out of his comfort zone trying to find information about his father. This is a large task for Oskar because in the back of his mind he knows that the information he receives can finalize his father’s death which he has been attempting to hide from.
The name Schell is also significant in discussing Oskar’s mother. Like Oskar, she hides the fact that she received a phone call from her husband to protect Oskar. She also could have been protecting herself by ignoring the fact that she received the phone call, Oskar’s mother is not making her husband’s death final.
Schell is a fitting name for Oskar’s grandparents as well. Both people have a lot of bottled emotion that they keep from one another. Oskar’s grandmother knows that Thomas truly was in love with Anna; yet she continues a relationship with him for many years hoping that he will love her, when she is really hiding from the truth. Thomas has trouble expressing his emotions towards his son; for example, all the unsent letters he wrote to him. All the bottled emotion Thomas has could be considered a shell that he unable to break through.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
History- Richard III
Shakespeare’s histories take real life events, often involving the British royal family, and exaggerate and dramatize them for stage. Histories were a way for people to learn about there past without the aid of a text book. Richard III incorporates many dramatic and tragic elements that are found in other genres of Shakespeare’s plays.
ActIII Scene I
YORK
I pray you, uncle, give me this dagger.
GLOUCESTER
My dagger, little cousin? with all my heart.
PRINCE EDWARD
A beggar, brother?
YORK
Of my kind uncle, that I know will give;And being but a toy, which is no grief to give.
GLOUCESTER
A greater gift than that I'll give my cousin.
YORK
A greater gift! O, that's the sword to it.
GLOUCESTER
A gentle cousin, were it light enough.
YORK
O, then, I see, you will part but with light gifts;In weightier things you'll say a beggar nay.
GLOUCESTER
It is too heavy for your grace to wear.
YORK
I weigh it lightly, were it heavier.
GLOUCESTER
What, would you have my weapon, little lord?
YORK
I would, that I might thank you as you call me.
GLOUCESTER
How?
YORK
Little.
PRINCE EDWARD
My Lord of York will still be cross in talk:Uncle, your grace knows how to bear with him.
YORK
You mean, to bear me, not to bear with me:Uncle, my brother mocks both you and me;Because that I am little, like an ape,He thinks that you should bear me on your shoulders.
BUCKINGHAM
With what a sharp-provided wit he reasons!To mitigate the scorn he gives his uncle,He prettily and aptly taunts himself:So cunning and so young is wonderful.
GLOUCESTER
My lord, will't please you pass along?Myself and my good cousin BuckinghamWill to your mother, to entreat of herTo meet you at the Tower and welcome you.
YORK
What, will you go unto the Tower, my lord?
PRINCE EDWARD
My lord protector needs will have it so.
YORK
I shall not sleep in quiet at the Tower.
GLOUCESTER
Why, what should you fear?
YORK
Marry, my uncle Clarence' angry ghost:My grandam told me he was murdered there.
PRINCE EDWARD
I fear no uncles dead.
GLOUCESTER
Nor none that live, I hope.
PRINCE EDWARD
An if they live, I hope I need not fear.But come, my lord; and with a heavy heart,Thinking on them, go I unto the Tower.
A Sennet. Exeunt all but GLOUCESTER, BUCKINGHAM and CATESBY
This passage disturbed me the most out of the horrible thing Richard did. Richard gives his dagger to Prince Edward as a gift, a noble gesture. Richard acts as if he is the good Uncle that is acting in Price Edward’s best interest, when he really plans to kill him as he killed Prince Edward’s father. Richard is extremely manipulative in how he plays off of the price’s fear of the tower, and convinces him that it is the safest place for him to be. In this passage, Richard meets the most opposition to his plans, and it comes from the least likely suspect, his young nephew, which makes the scene more disturbing. Prince Edward, despite of his age and innocence, is able to see that Richard is up to no good when Richard has fooled many adults. Somehow, Richard convinces the prince that he has nothing to fear, and Prince Edward goes to the tower where he will be murdered like he suspected.
I enjoyed Richard III the most out of the Shakespeare works we read because Richard is a very interesting character. Richard is a horrible person, but he is intriguing at the same time because he is manipulative, evil, and has no conscience about his actions. Richard creates so much drama throughout the play; he is like a puppet master. I hate Richard because he is an extremely evil and cruel person, but I could not wait to see what he would do next because he is absolutely brilliant in the way he can control everyone even though they know he is controlling them.
ActIII Scene I
YORK
I pray you, uncle, give me this dagger.
GLOUCESTER
My dagger, little cousin? with all my heart.
PRINCE EDWARD
A beggar, brother?
YORK
Of my kind uncle, that I know will give;And being but a toy, which is no grief to give.
GLOUCESTER
A greater gift than that I'll give my cousin.
YORK
A greater gift! O, that's the sword to it.
GLOUCESTER
A gentle cousin, were it light enough.
YORK
O, then, I see, you will part but with light gifts;In weightier things you'll say a beggar nay.
GLOUCESTER
It is too heavy for your grace to wear.
YORK
I weigh it lightly, were it heavier.
GLOUCESTER
What, would you have my weapon, little lord?
YORK
I would, that I might thank you as you call me.
GLOUCESTER
How?
YORK
Little.
PRINCE EDWARD
My Lord of York will still be cross in talk:Uncle, your grace knows how to bear with him.
YORK
You mean, to bear me, not to bear with me:Uncle, my brother mocks both you and me;Because that I am little, like an ape,He thinks that you should bear me on your shoulders.
BUCKINGHAM
With what a sharp-provided wit he reasons!To mitigate the scorn he gives his uncle,He prettily and aptly taunts himself:So cunning and so young is wonderful.
GLOUCESTER
My lord, will't please you pass along?Myself and my good cousin BuckinghamWill to your mother, to entreat of herTo meet you at the Tower and welcome you.
YORK
What, will you go unto the Tower, my lord?
PRINCE EDWARD
My lord protector needs will have it so.
YORK
I shall not sleep in quiet at the Tower.
GLOUCESTER
Why, what should you fear?
YORK
Marry, my uncle Clarence' angry ghost:My grandam told me he was murdered there.
PRINCE EDWARD
I fear no uncles dead.
GLOUCESTER
Nor none that live, I hope.
PRINCE EDWARD
An if they live, I hope I need not fear.But come, my lord; and with a heavy heart,Thinking on them, go I unto the Tower.
A Sennet. Exeunt all but GLOUCESTER, BUCKINGHAM and CATESBY
This passage disturbed me the most out of the horrible thing Richard did. Richard gives his dagger to Prince Edward as a gift, a noble gesture. Richard acts as if he is the good Uncle that is acting in Price Edward’s best interest, when he really plans to kill him as he killed Prince Edward’s father. Richard is extremely manipulative in how he plays off of the price’s fear of the tower, and convinces him that it is the safest place for him to be. In this passage, Richard meets the most opposition to his plans, and it comes from the least likely suspect, his young nephew, which makes the scene more disturbing. Prince Edward, despite of his age and innocence, is able to see that Richard is up to no good when Richard has fooled many adults. Somehow, Richard convinces the prince that he has nothing to fear, and Prince Edward goes to the tower where he will be murdered like he suspected.
I enjoyed Richard III the most out of the Shakespeare works we read because Richard is a very interesting character. Richard is a horrible person, but he is intriguing at the same time because he is manipulative, evil, and has no conscience about his actions. Richard creates so much drama throughout the play; he is like a puppet master. I hate Richard because he is an extremely evil and cruel person, but I could not wait to see what he would do next because he is absolutely brilliant in the way he can control everyone even though they know he is controlling them.
Comedy- A Midsummer Night's Dream
Shakespeare’s comedy is characterized by with, puns, and sexual innuendos. A Midsummer Night’s Dream does feature some slapstick comedy in the scenes set in the woods. These scenes feature a lot of buffoonery; humor that is funny because of its stupidity, not because of its intellect. The Taming of the Shrew exhibited these same qualities. The Taming of the Shrew also utilized the fact that people tend to find humor in the pain of others as long as the pain is not severe. For example, the royalty had fun at the expense of the drunk my making him believe that he was a king. The tactics used by Shakespeare can be found in today’s comedy. Slapstick and buffoonery are used in standup and variety shows, and the other tactics are implored in various TV shows, movies, and comedy shows.
ACT III Scene i
Bottom
There are things in this comedy of Pyramus andThisby that will never please. First, Pyramus mustdraw a sword to kill himself; which the ladiescannot abide. How answer you that?
SNOUT
By'r lakin, a parlous fear.
STARVELING
I believe we must leave the killing out, when all is done.
BOTTOM
Not a whit: I have a device to make all well.Write me a prologue; and let the prologue seem tosay, we will do no harm with our swords, and thatPyramus is not killed indeed; and, for the morebetter assurance, tell them that I, Pyramus, am notPyramus, but Bottom the weaver: this will put themout of fear.
QUINCE
Well, we will have such a prologue; and it shall bewritten in eight and six.
BOTTOM
No, make it two more; let it be written in eight and eight.
SNOUT
Will not the ladies be afeard of the lion?
STARVELING
I fear it, I promise you.
BOTTOM
Masters, you ought to consider with yourselves: tobring in--God shield us!--a lion among ladies, is amost dreadful thing; for there is not a more fearfulwild-fowl than your lion living; and we ought tolook to 't.
SNOUT
Therefore another prologue must tell he is not a lion.
BOTTOM
Nay, you must name his name, and half his face mustbe seen through the lion's neck: and he himselfmust speak through, saying thus, or to the samedefect,--'Ladies,'--or 'Fair-ladies--I would wishYou,'--or 'I would request you,'--or 'I wouldentreat you,--not to fear, not to tremble: my lifefor yours. If you think I come hither as a lion, itwere pity of my life: no I am no such thing; I am aman as other men are;' and there indeed let him namehis name, and tell them plainly he is Snug the joiner.
QUINCE
Well it shall be so. But there is two hard things; that is, to bring the moonlight into a chamber; for, you know, Pyramus and Thisby meet by moonlight.
SNOUT
Doth the moon shine that night we play our play?
BOTTOM
A calendar, a calendar! look in the almanac; findout moonshine, find out moonshine.
QUINCE
Yes, it doth shine that night.
BOTTOM
Why, then may you leave a casement of the greatchamber window, where we play, open, and the moonmay shine in at the casement.
QUINCE
Ay; or else one must come in with a bush of thornsand a lanthorn, and say he comes to disfigure, or topresent, the person of Moonshine. Then, there isanother thing: we must have a wall in the greatchamber; for Pyramus and Thisby says the story, didtalk through the chink of a wall.
SNOUT
You can never bring in a wall. What say you, Bottom?
BOTTOM
Some man or other must present Wall: and let himhave some plaster, or some loam, or some rough-castabout him, to signify wall; and let him hold hisfingers thus, and through that cranny shall Pyramusand Thisby whisper.
In this passage, there is a great deal of buffoonery in the woods. This passage is humorous because of the stupidity of Bottom and the other cast members. They are so worried about the ladies being scared by the killing and the lion because they believe it will appear so real on stage. This is humorous because the audience knows that the cast is composed of horrible actors, so the fact that the actors believe that their parts will appear life-like is funny. The scene also shows the arrogance of the cast, especially Bottom, which is humorous because he is the worst actor of the bunch. It is humorous that several prologues are included into the play to explain that the events are not real because every one watching the play knows that the play is imaginary, and there would never be a prologue before every action in a good play. The description of the wall is particularly amusing because a wall is an inanimate object that really does not need to be acted out in the first place, and the idea of a person trying to be a wall, one with a hole no less, is particularly amusing. Acting out a wall is not the most intelligent idea, or the most necessary element of the play. The funniest part of this entire passage is that the cast spends so much time and puts so much effort into the little, unnecessary nuances that they are adding to the script instead of working on their acting, which is atrocious.
A did not enjoy A Midsummer Night’s Dream that much because I miss a lot of the suttle bits of humor that Shakespeare incorporates into the play when reading it. The scenes of buffoonery or slapstick humor are clearly funny, but that type of humor is much more effective when acted out because how humorous the scene will be is determined a lot by timing. Timing, expression, and context are very import to humor, and so much of that is missed when reading a play. One can understand much of the implied emotions when reading the play, but plays are truly meant to be performed for an audience.
ACT III Scene i
Bottom
There are things in this comedy of Pyramus andThisby that will never please. First, Pyramus mustdraw a sword to kill himself; which the ladiescannot abide. How answer you that?
SNOUT
By'r lakin, a parlous fear.
STARVELING
I believe we must leave the killing out, when all is done.
BOTTOM
Not a whit: I have a device to make all well.Write me a prologue; and let the prologue seem tosay, we will do no harm with our swords, and thatPyramus is not killed indeed; and, for the morebetter assurance, tell them that I, Pyramus, am notPyramus, but Bottom the weaver: this will put themout of fear.
QUINCE
Well, we will have such a prologue; and it shall bewritten in eight and six.
BOTTOM
No, make it two more; let it be written in eight and eight.
SNOUT
Will not the ladies be afeard of the lion?
STARVELING
I fear it, I promise you.
BOTTOM
Masters, you ought to consider with yourselves: tobring in--God shield us!--a lion among ladies, is amost dreadful thing; for there is not a more fearfulwild-fowl than your lion living; and we ought tolook to 't.
SNOUT
Therefore another prologue must tell he is not a lion.
BOTTOM
Nay, you must name his name, and half his face mustbe seen through the lion's neck: and he himselfmust speak through, saying thus, or to the samedefect,--'Ladies,'--or 'Fair-ladies--I would wishYou,'--or 'I would request you,'--or 'I wouldentreat you,--not to fear, not to tremble: my lifefor yours. If you think I come hither as a lion, itwere pity of my life: no I am no such thing; I am aman as other men are;' and there indeed let him namehis name, and tell them plainly he is Snug the joiner.
QUINCE
Well it shall be so. But there is two hard things; that is, to bring the moonlight into a chamber; for, you know, Pyramus and Thisby meet by moonlight.
SNOUT
Doth the moon shine that night we play our play?
BOTTOM
A calendar, a calendar! look in the almanac; findout moonshine, find out moonshine.
QUINCE
Yes, it doth shine that night.
BOTTOM
Why, then may you leave a casement of the greatchamber window, where we play, open, and the moonmay shine in at the casement.
QUINCE
Ay; or else one must come in with a bush of thornsand a lanthorn, and say he comes to disfigure, or topresent, the person of Moonshine. Then, there isanother thing: we must have a wall in the greatchamber; for Pyramus and Thisby says the story, didtalk through the chink of a wall.
SNOUT
You can never bring in a wall. What say you, Bottom?
BOTTOM
Some man or other must present Wall: and let himhave some plaster, or some loam, or some rough-castabout him, to signify wall; and let him hold hisfingers thus, and through that cranny shall Pyramusand Thisby whisper.
In this passage, there is a great deal of buffoonery in the woods. This passage is humorous because of the stupidity of Bottom and the other cast members. They are so worried about the ladies being scared by the killing and the lion because they believe it will appear so real on stage. This is humorous because the audience knows that the cast is composed of horrible actors, so the fact that the actors believe that their parts will appear life-like is funny. The scene also shows the arrogance of the cast, especially Bottom, which is humorous because he is the worst actor of the bunch. It is humorous that several prologues are included into the play to explain that the events are not real because every one watching the play knows that the play is imaginary, and there would never be a prologue before every action in a good play. The description of the wall is particularly amusing because a wall is an inanimate object that really does not need to be acted out in the first place, and the idea of a person trying to be a wall, one with a hole no less, is particularly amusing. Acting out a wall is not the most intelligent idea, or the most necessary element of the play. The funniest part of this entire passage is that the cast spends so much time and puts so much effort into the little, unnecessary nuances that they are adding to the script instead of working on their acting, which is atrocious.
A did not enjoy A Midsummer Night’s Dream that much because I miss a lot of the suttle bits of humor that Shakespeare incorporates into the play when reading it. The scenes of buffoonery or slapstick humor are clearly funny, but that type of humor is much more effective when acted out because how humorous the scene will be is determined a lot by timing. Timing, expression, and context are very import to humor, and so much of that is missed when reading a play. One can understand much of the implied emotions when reading the play, but plays are truly meant to be performed for an audience.
Tragedy- Macbeth
Shakespeare’s Macbeth is not a tragedy merely because of the numerous deaths that result from evil intentions, but because of the corrosive transformation of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the deathly ambitious people they become. Shakespeare presents this transformation in a subtle way that becomes increasingly dramatic way. Lady Macbeth is very womanly, polite, and upstanding, but upon learning of Macbeth’s rise in power, she is hungry for more. This is when Lady Macbeth exhibits an example of gender role reversal; she takes charge of the situation upon realizing that Macbeth does not seem to have the confidence to take the next step needed to put himself ahead, and murder Duncan. Shakespeare presents these characters in a way that the reader or viewer of this play follows the Macbeths along their journey of rising power all the way to the summit of the mountain, and then stumbles back down the mountain with them.
ACT II SCENE II
Macbeth
I am afraid to think what I have done.
Look on’t again I dare not.
Lady Macbeth
Infirm of purpose!
Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead
Are but as pictures. Tis the eye of childhood
That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed,
I’ll gild the faces of the grooms withal,
For it must seem there guilt.
She exits ( with the daggers) Knock within
Macbeth
Whence is that knocking?
How is’t with me when every noise appalls me?
What hands are here! Ha, they pluck out mine eyes. With all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand?
No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnasube,
Making the green one red.
Enter Lady Macbeth
My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white.
[…]
Macbeth
To know my deed ‘twere best not know myself.
In this scene, clearly Macbeth is distraught over his decision to murder Duncan. He feels uncomfortable in his own room; every single noise gives him fear because he knows so little of himself anymore. His actions have stricken him so terribly that nothing could change what he has done. Macbeth is extremely distraught, while Lady Macbeth is fine with the situation, and a bit ashamed at Macbeth’s skiddish behavior.
Macbeth’s behavior is characterized to be like that of the stereotypical woman; timid. Lady Macbeth is extremely bold, disgusted by Macbeth’s behavior. She has to take the daggers back to the scene, or do the dirty work. The way that Lady Macbeth says that her hands are the same color shows that she does feel badly about what has happened, but she has to move on, and Macbeth should be ashamed that he needs to be comforted, and just move on because he has more important things to focus on. Lady Macbeth has to take control of the situation, and be the one that is comforting the other, when one would normally expect the roles to be reversed.
The gender roles reversal plays into Macbeth’s demise, because not only his own ambition is his driving force, but more so the ambition of Lady Macbeth. She is the dominant person in the relationship, and her ambition is corruptive of the upstanding, rising members of society that she and Macbeth were.
I enjoyed the gender role reversal in Macbeth because it put an interesting twist on societal norms for the time period. The role reversal leads to intense language that exhibited desire and disgust, amongst various other emotions throughout the play. Shakespeare painted a picture with his words that even without seeing the play acted out, one could visualize the look on Lady Macbeth’s face when she has to hold Macbeth together, and the fear in Macbeth’s face when he sees the visions. Other than the major scenes involving Lady Macbeth and the Weird Sisters, I had trouble following most of the remainder of the play. It was not that the words did not make sense, but that I could not visualize what was happening. It probably would have helped to see Macbeth acted out.
ACT II SCENE II
Macbeth
I am afraid to think what I have done.
Look on’t again I dare not.
Lady Macbeth
Infirm of purpose!
Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead
Are but as pictures. Tis the eye of childhood
That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed,
I’ll gild the faces of the grooms withal,
For it must seem there guilt.
She exits ( with the daggers) Knock within
Macbeth
Whence is that knocking?
How is’t with me when every noise appalls me?
What hands are here! Ha, they pluck out mine eyes. With all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand?
No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnasube,
Making the green one red.
Enter Lady Macbeth
My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white.
[…]
Macbeth
To know my deed ‘twere best not know myself.
In this scene, clearly Macbeth is distraught over his decision to murder Duncan. He feels uncomfortable in his own room; every single noise gives him fear because he knows so little of himself anymore. His actions have stricken him so terribly that nothing could change what he has done. Macbeth is extremely distraught, while Lady Macbeth is fine with the situation, and a bit ashamed at Macbeth’s skiddish behavior.
Macbeth’s behavior is characterized to be like that of the stereotypical woman; timid. Lady Macbeth is extremely bold, disgusted by Macbeth’s behavior. She has to take the daggers back to the scene, or do the dirty work. The way that Lady Macbeth says that her hands are the same color shows that she does feel badly about what has happened, but she has to move on, and Macbeth should be ashamed that he needs to be comforted, and just move on because he has more important things to focus on. Lady Macbeth has to take control of the situation, and be the one that is comforting the other, when one would normally expect the roles to be reversed.
The gender roles reversal plays into Macbeth’s demise, because not only his own ambition is his driving force, but more so the ambition of Lady Macbeth. She is the dominant person in the relationship, and her ambition is corruptive of the upstanding, rising members of society that she and Macbeth were.
I enjoyed the gender role reversal in Macbeth because it put an interesting twist on societal norms for the time period. The role reversal leads to intense language that exhibited desire and disgust, amongst various other emotions throughout the play. Shakespeare painted a picture with his words that even without seeing the play acted out, one could visualize the look on Lady Macbeth’s face when she has to hold Macbeth together, and the fear in Macbeth’s face when he sees the visions. Other than the major scenes involving Lady Macbeth and the Weird Sisters, I had trouble following most of the remainder of the play. It was not that the words did not make sense, but that I could not visualize what was happening. It probably would have helped to see Macbeth acted out.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
208 "If thou must love me" ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning
The theme of "If thou must love me" is love someone because you are in love, not to say that you have been in love, or for superficial features that may change, or that your view of may change. The poem is written as a sonnet, a form indicating the poet's Shakespearen influence, and every other line contains end rhyme. The end rhyme is integral because it brings together the poem following the hypens which indicate pauses and interjections. The speaker is a first person narrator who is speaking to someone that appears to a past lover. The position of the speaker is important because the message presented in the poem is given more effectively than if the speaker was directing their feelings towards a general group. The reader can sense emotion that the speaker is feeling because they are putting their feelings out in the open, not censoring them for a particular audience.
The hyphens, an aspect of the punctuation, serve a purpose in this poem because they express the emotion that the speaker is feeling. For example, one can see the exasperation of the speaker when she states, " Do not say' I Love her for her smile- her look-her way,'" (3). Love is personified in this poem when the speaker states, "Love's sake...love's eternity," (13-14). Love in the literal sense is an idea or concept, there for it can not have a time frame or a possession, but it is a nice detail because love is just as important as a person or most-prized possession, and often spoke about in that manner. An interesting detail of this poem is the capitalization of Beloved when the speaker states, "For these things in themselves, Beloved, may/," (7). Beloved is capitalized like it is refering to a person, but it is really refering to features mentioned in previous lines. The repetition of the word love is ironic because the speaker is telling their audience not to overuse love; do not love everything because love is so special, that it should not be constantly thrown out about everything, yet the word is used numerous times. The overuse of love illustrates the speaker's point though because she is telling the audience not to love but for the really important things, and repeating the word illustrates how it is not just overused in conversation, but overused in general.
"If thou must love me" initially struck me because is sounded similar like Meredith's speech to Derek in Grey's Anatomy, which is one of my favorite TV shows. However, it has a good message, do not love something or someone for their superficial features, but for what is inside them because that is who someone really is. It is a good message to take away, but it is also very cliche`. We all have probably read other poems or novels or watch a movie that had a similar message, but a good message will probably never die. I also like the old English that the poem is written in.
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The hyphens, an aspect of the punctuation, serve a purpose in this poem because they express the emotion that the speaker is feeling. For example, one can see the exasperation of the speaker when she states, " Do not say' I Love her for her smile- her look-her way,'" (3). Love is personified in this poem when the speaker states, "Love's sake...love's eternity," (13-14). Love in the literal sense is an idea or concept, there for it can not have a time frame or a possession, but it is a nice detail because love is just as important as a person or most-prized possession, and often spoke about in that manner. An interesting detail of this poem is the capitalization of Beloved when the speaker states, "For these things in themselves, Beloved, may/," (7). Beloved is capitalized like it is refering to a person, but it is really refering to features mentioned in previous lines. The repetition of the word love is ironic because the speaker is telling their audience not to overuse love; do not love everything because love is so special, that it should not be constantly thrown out about everything, yet the word is used numerous times. The overuse of love illustrates the speaker's point though because she is telling the audience not to love but for the really important things, and repeating the word illustrates how it is not just overused in conversation, but overused in general.
"If thou must love me" initially struck me because is sounded similar like Meredith's speech to Derek in Grey's Anatomy, which is one of my favorite TV shows. However, it has a good message, do not love something or someone for their superficial features, but for what is inside them because that is who someone really is. It is a good message to take away, but it is also very cliche`. We all have probably read other poems or novels or watch a movie that had a similar message, but a good message will probably never die. I also like the old English that the poem is written in.
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
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